Low power and Lossy Networks (LLNs), e.g., sensor networks, have a myriad of applications, such as Smart Grid and Smart Cities. Various challenges are presented with LLNs, such as lossy links, low bandwidth, battery operation, low memory and/or processing capability, etc. One example routing solution to LLN challenges is a protocol called Routing Protocol for LLNs or “RPL,” which is a distance vector routing protocol that builds a Destination Oriented Directed Acyclic Graph (DODAG, or simply DAG) in addition to a set of features to bound the control traffic, support local (and slow) repair, etc. The RPL architecture provides a flexible method by which each node performs DODAG discovery, construction, and maintenance.
During network operation, probing is often utilized for collecting information that is essential for maintaining and optimizing performance of the network. However, in most computer networks, and particularly in bandwidth-constrained LLNs, the cost of probing is extremely high. Indeed, mesh networks have such limited bandwidth that even small Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) probes can affect the performance of the network.